Nation: Escape chute opened inside Delta flight during emergency landing

http://www.nandotimes.com/nation/story/347338p-2852487c.html ^ | April 6 2002 | AP

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

Nation: Escape chute opened inside Delta flight during emergency landing

The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (April 6, 2002 9:38 p.m. EST) - An evacuation chute on a Delta Air Lines jet opened inside the plane during an emergency landing last month, hindering the passengers' escape and possibly contributing to injuries, federal investigators said.

The MD-11 jet, carrying passengers from Atlanta, was bound for London but was forced to make an emergency landing March 31 at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport after the pilot reported a possible engine fire.

The passengers evacuated on chutes designed to automatically inflate outside when emergency doors are opened. Fourteen of the 245 passengers and crew members aboard received minor injuries during an eight-minute evacuation.

"Apparently, one of the slides opened inside the aircraft, which may have contributed to a few of the injuries," said Keith Holloway, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board.

[RangeRatt]

and I have to fly trans-Atlantic Wednesday morning.

Nothing like a story of this nature to make me feel better about travel....

[Pern]

I don't envy you. I just got back from Seoul, SK. Two rows in front of me, there were about 6 screaming kids. They bawled the whole 13 hr trip to Dallas! I was miserable.

[RangeRatt]

you must have forgetten that up to 40 pounds can be placed in the overhead storage compartment for your convenience!

I had a similar problem flying Lufthansa (business class) from Frankfurt to Kuwait City- there was a child sitting behind me kicking my seat- I flagged the attendant down, told her, and the "problem" disappeared. Didn't see him the rest of the trip. Got a NICE manicure, too!

[Texas Mom]

I know a family who was on this flight and they never mentioned anyone getting hurt. Their only complaint was they had to leave everything on the plane than stand on the runway in the rain until they could get a bus out to pick them up. They called from the airport and were laughing and enjoying their adventure although they weren't sure they were going to make it to London for their vacation or if they would be vacationing in Charlotte. They did talk about the engine fire and having to evacuate via the shoot but nothing else.

[martin_fierro]

PILOT: "Surely you don't mean the emergency escape ramp has inflated in-flight!"

STEWARDESS: "I do. And stop calling my Shirley."

[martin_fierro]

er, "...ME Shirley".

[Squantos]

Airbag on a airplane maybe ??

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

Last year, for a thread involving people suing an airline for having to sit next to a dead passenger, I composed the following retrospective of my own most memorable seatmates, such as:

o Chatty Lady, who was a poster-child for The Paralytic Halitosis Society, or

o The 400 Pound Man, whose butt draped over both armrests and probably didn't even touch the seat cushion, or

o Statistics Guy, who regaled all around with gruesome in-depth details of dozens of major air crashes while we were awaiting take-off, or

o Thirsty Guy, who had consumed most of a flask of whisky prior to boarding the plane, then plopped down next to me, rested his head on my shoulder, and passed out, stirring only to belch every once in a while, or

o The Lady of The Hands, a social-worker in L.A. who tried to drape a blanket over herself and me (I was 16!) and do the nasty, or

o Bean Guy, whose aromatic flatulence commenced immediately after takeoff and recurred every 7 minutes like clockwork (I timed it) throughout a five-hour flight, or

o Barf Lady, who ralphed into a sickie bag shortly after takeoff from Hong Kong, and went through about a dozen more before we landed at SFO, or

o Depends Lady, a grouchy nursing-home candidate, approximately 80 years old, being shepherded by her middle-aged daughter; first the airline decided to board them at the head of the line rather than pre-boarding them, so we all had to inch along behind her and her walker for like hours; then she audibly loaded her diaper immediately after takeoff and spent the remainder of a blessedly-short hourlong flight sort of scooting around in her seat.

There are more (I'm a frequent flyer), but you get the drift. In each case these folks were immediately adjacent to me, but the plane was packed and there was nothing that could be done. Believe me, having a corpse as a seatmate sounds awfully good compared to these neighbors.

[CWRWinger]

Tell them there's not a lot to see in Charlotte. They need to get a rental car and drive a few miles to South Carolina and spend some money.

[Pern]

Brought a few memorable experiences back. Chuckles, too. :-)

[RangeRatt]

ROFLMAOAFOOC!

[RangeRatt]

that is, if they can get past the NAACP at the Welcome Center Rest Area...put 'em on a tour bus to Maurice Bessinger's BBQ! Great Food!

[CWRWinger]

You have got the right ideas! They will have no trouble getting past the naalcp, they're hardly visible.

[RangeRatt]

my wife just ordered a case of Maurice's Carolina Gold sauce from his website- since you can't buy it the grocery stores anymore, it's the only way to get it, and oh, so GOOD!

[antidemocommie]

NEVER fly transalantic or pacific in a two engine plane. There is considerable risk in the event of engine failure, whereas with a 747, L10ll, or smiliar craft, you have more than two engines. My fav is the Boeing 747, and remember this if you remember nothing else....IF IT AINT BOEING, I AINT GOING!

[CWRWinger]

I like Maurice's BBQ sauce, also. Our grocery store still sells it and even has an aisle diplay! They sell the bottles with the Confederate Flag on the label.

[Dan Day]

The passengers evacuated on chutes designed to automatically inflate outside when emergency doors are opened.

This sounds like a garbled description of the actual equipment.

The only inflatable chutes I've ever seen on jetliners were attached to the regular doors. The "emergency doors" open over the wings, with no chute, since they're designed to be used to step out onto the wing and thence hop off onto the ground -- and then probably only if the main exits are blocked.

From the times I've looked at the chute packages, they're to be operated *manually* (not open "automatically") after you've swung the door open.

It sounds to me like someone just got a little antsy and yanked the chute release before the door was fully open.

[RangeRatt]

which store might this be? I have been told it is no longer available in stores in Charleston, and my wife has not been able to find it in Florida, where we now live...

[RangeRatt]

flying on a DC-8; Ascension/Antigua/Patrick AFB, FL.